It’s almost time!
We are less than a week away from the 2025 NFL Draft and excitement is building.
With the draft so close, it is time for a trip down memory lane to select the top three Buccaneers draft picks of all time.
3. Lavonte David – Linebacker (Second Round, 58th Overall – 2012)
Lavonte David has been a loyal servant to the team, a captain, and a leader, David is still on the Bucs to the day.
Big number 54 has missed only a few games in his 13 years in Tampa, and is one of the Bucs’ longest serving players.
A warrior on the field, he helped anchor Tampa Bay’s defence in their crushing Super Bowl LV victory.
He is one of the most underrated linebackers of all time, and probably the best value pick by the Bucs in the 21st century.
2. Mike Evans – Wide Receiver (First Round, 7th Overall – 2014)
If you can think of an NFL “one man club guy” Mike Evans is your guy.
For me, Evans embodies the Bucs. He has been through the worst and best years of the Bucs, but still stayed through thick and thin.
He is one the best receivers of all time, as seen with his 11th straight 1,000 yard receiving season.
All of this with a revolving door of average to poor quarterbacks, and honestly, getting Tom Brady to throw him the rock for a few seasons was the least he deserved.
His loyalty has been rewarded with a Super Bowl ring, and most likely a first ballot entry into the Hall of Fame.
A hero on and off the pitch, Evans also helps victims of domestic abuse through the Mike Evans Family Foundation.
1. Derrick Brooks – Wide Receiver (First Round, 28th Overall – 1995)
Although he was a little before my time, as a Bucs fan I have always been told of Derrick Brooks.
Brooks is not just the best Bucs draft pick ever, he arguably is the best Buccaneer of all time.
Brooks never missed a game for the Bucs, and started the revolution in Tampa.
It is easy to forget that the Bucs were a total laughing stock from 1976 to the 1990’s.
The draft coincides with the Glazers family acquisition of the Buccaneers in 1995, which signalled a reboot for the franchise.
Some of his accolades include being Super Bowl XXXVII champion, 11 time Pro Bowler, five time First-team All-Pro and 2002 Defensive Player of the Year.
He was the centre piece of the revolutionary ‘Tampa 2’ defence, and got a pick to seal Super Bowl XXXVII.
Brooks is one of the first Buccaneers to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, and still shines today with his incredible contributions to charities in the sunshine state.
